Search the encyclopedia
271 articles found for “Levi”
Molech
[Bible]Molech is a foreign deity, or the name of a type of sacrifice, mentioned in the Old Testament in connection with the offering of children by fire. The Law strictly forbids the practice, and the books of Kings and the Prophets record it as a leading example of Israel's apostasy.
Gleaning
[Bible]Gleaning was an Old Testament legal institution requiring that fallen ears of grain and leftover fruit be left at harvest for the poor and the stranger to gather. It is best known from the Book of Ruth, where Ruth gleans in the field of Boaz.
Ramoth-gilead
[Bible]Ramoth-gilead was a city in the region of Gilead, east of the Jordan River. It was a city of refuge in the territory of the tribe of Gad, and Israel and Aram fought over it repeatedly. It is known as the place where Ahab was killed in battle and where Jehu was anointed king.
Genesis 35:1–7
[Bible Verses]After the events at Shechem, God commands Jacob to go up to Bethel and build an altar there, and Jacob's household puts away its foreign gods before arriving at Bethel. The passage is often preached as an example of fulfilling a vow and of purification before worship.
Epistle to the Hebrews
[Bible]Hebrews is the nineteenth book of the New Testament. It presents Jesus Christ as the true High Priest who fulfilled the sacrifices and priesthood of the Old Testament, and it exhorts its readers to hold fast to the faith.
Matthew 5:44
[Bible Verses]Matthew 5:44 records Jesus' command, "Love your enemies... and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you." It is regarded as one of the most radical passages in Jesus' ethical teaching and is applied broadly, from personal forgiveness to questions of national division and reconciliation.
Parable of the Good Samaritan
[Bible]The Parable of the Good Samaritan is a parable of Jesus recorded in Luke 10:25-37. In answer to a lawyer's question, "And who is my neighbour?", Jesus tells the story of a Samaritan who helped a man who had been attacked by robbers.
High Priest
[Bible]The high priest held the foremost position among the priests of Old Testament Israel, an office whose holder entered the Most Holy Place on the Day of Atonement to make atonement for the people. The New Testament Epistle to the Hebrews presents Jesus Christ as the eternal High Priest.
Casting Lots
[Bible]Casting lots was a customary way of settling matters that people found difficult to decide for themselves by drawing marked objects. In the Bible it was used to divide land, assign duties, and choose an apostle, and its outcome was accepted as the will of God.
Breastplate (High Priest)
[Bible]The breastplate was a square ornamental piece of fabric that the high priest of Old Testament Israel wore on his chest over the ephod. It held twelve gemstones engraved with the names of the twelve tribes and contained the Urim and Thummim.
Vineyard
[Bible]A vineyard is a plot of land where grapevines are planted and cultivated. In the Bible it is part of agricultural life, and it frequently serves as a symbol of the people (Israel) whom God tends and from whom He expects fruit.
Tent of Meeting
[Bible]The Tent of Meeting is the tent where God met with Moses and Israel and spoke to them. In the Old Testament the term is used chiefly as another name for the tabernacle.
Palm Tree
[Bible]In the Bible, the palm tree is the date palm. It is associated with the joy of the Feast of Tabernacles, the flourishing of the righteous, and the decoration of the temple. In Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and in the heavenly worship of Revelation, it signifies welcome and victory.
Mount Tabor
[Bible]Mount Tabor is a mountain in the Galilee region of northern Israel, rising northeast of the Jezreel Valley. In the Old Testament it appears as the battleground of Deborah and Barak, and church tradition has long identified it as the Mount of Transfiguration.
Manuscript
[Bible]A manuscript is a book or document copied by hand from an original. None of the original documents of the Bible survive, and modern Bibles are translated from texts established by comparing manuscripts from many periods.
Hyssop
[Bible]Hyssop is a plant used in Old Testament purification rites to sprinkle blood or water. It appears in connection with the Passover, the rite for cleansing from leprosy, Psalm 51, and the crucifixion scene in the Gospel of John.
Stoning
[Bible]Stoning is a method of execution in which an offender is put to death by a group of people throwing stones. The Old Testament law prescribed it for a number of grave offenses, and in the New Testament it appears in the account of the woman taken in adultery and in the martyrdom of Stephen.
Cyprus
[Bible]Cyprus is an island in the eastern Mediterranean, still known today by the same name. In the Book of Acts it appears as the home of Barnabas and as the first place where the gospel was preached on Paul's first missionary journey.
Trespass Offering
[Bible]The trespass offering was one of the Old Testament sacrifices. Through the offering of a ram, it made atonement for sins that caused loss with respect to holy things or a neighbor's property, and it required the offender to repay the original value plus one-fifth.
Herem
[Bible]Herem is a Hebrew term for the irrevocable devotion of a person or thing to God, which removes it from human use, or for the thing so devoted. In the accounts of the conquest of Canaan, it is also rendered "utter destruction."